Generation Zero review roundup, bad execution of grandiose dreams

Generation Zero has launched and spent a few days on the shelves, so it's time to dig in and see whether Avalanche's 80s survival is all it was cracked up to be. If you want the short version, then no, at its present state, it isn't much.

At the time of writing, Generation Zero has a Metacritic score of 49, based on 12 sources, but we'll dig a bit deeper than just numbers.

Overall, everyone seems to agree that Generation Zero is a buggy mess that would've deservedly worn an Early Access badge had it launched as such. Unfortunately, Avalanche thought it best to launch it in this state, for better or for worse.

Eurogamer thought that encounters with the big machines were pretty scary and later varied enough, but pointed out that the copy-paste houses get old pretty quickly. "Generation Zero is just another open-world FPS without the content needed to meaningfully sustain - and reward - its players", they concluded.

IGN said that the look and feel of Generation Zero is just what we were expecting, and in those departments, Avalanche seem to have done a good job. The gaming part, not so much. "Generation Zero feels like a game best played by people who don't mind not accomplishing anything", they wrote.

PCGamer pointed out that the copy-paste housing blocks end up feeling really cheap, really fast, which seriously downgrades the exploration aspect. They too felt like the atmospheric part was pretty great, but not enough content means an hour of gameplay before it turns boring.

Destructoid made their stance clear right from the get-go, telling players to steer clear of the game, at least in its current buggy and empty form.

For what it's worth, they couldn't make themselves to tolerate either the reused assets or the thinly spread out storyline that doesn't really hold everything together.

Avalanche Studios
Generation Zero, why did the robot cross the road?

Overall, it seems that it might be wise to wait and see just how well Avalanche plan to support Generation Zero before committing to buying the game.

Seeing as how Generation Zero already boasts something quite unique, it would be a shame not to patch up the parts that are sticking out. For that, however, we'll have to wait and see.